Cattle drive tips hat to Fla. ranching history
ST. CLOUD — As Carl Sharp bounced in the back of a horse-drawn wagon, the 92-year-old cowboy poet looked at the landscape and back in time to explain the role of ranchers in Florida history."This was wild and desolate country," he said. "If it hadn't been for them, there wouldn't be a Florida."
The wagon was traveling through ranches south of St. Cloud as part of the Great Florida Cattle Drive. About 400 participants and around the same number of cattle covered 50 miles over five days, ending today in Kenansville with a celebration of ranching culture, including Sharp and other cowboy poets and historians.
The event recreated a historic cattle drive, with participants riding on horses and wagons, wearing period dress and camping each night along the way. As development makes ranching more difficult in the state, the event reminds people of its important role, said Lynn Yarborough, part of a Seminole County ranching family.
"It's so you know what Florida is about — and it's not beaches and Cape Kennedy" she said.
While most people associate ranching with Western cowboys, Florida cowhunters have their own rich history, said Robert Stone of the Florida Folklife Program. Ranchers in the state call themselves cowhunters to describe their ability to hunt for cattle in dense vegetation.
Florida cowhunters differ from their Western counterparts in using the crack of a whip to drive cattle, which Stone said was a popular but not necessarily accurate explanation for the origin of the term "cracker." Florida cowhunters are also unique in their use of dogs to drive cattle out of thick brush.
"There's a saying that a good dog is worth three men," he said.
Only the head cowhunter on the Great Florida Cattle Drive was able to bring his dogs along for the trip. Other experienced hands — the best of the best from each county — helped guide the cattle, which were borrowed from rodeo events.
The remainder of the participants were left to navigate their horses and wagons through sometimes rough terrain. Linda Ballantine Brown, whose family has a farm in Williston, said she enjoyed watching her six children learn to rely on their horses.
"You really see the kids get one with their horses and that's what's really cool," she said.
Chris Machen, wife of University of Florida President Bernie Machen, said she was impressed by the number of people and horses gathered in one place. Riding her own horse on the drive, she said she loved exploring beautiful ranch lands dotted with palmetto patches and oak hammocks.
"It's once in a lifetime," she said.
Some participants took part in the first Great Florida Cattle Drive in 1995. But many in this year's drive doubted there would be a third event in another decade, due to the loss of ranch lands to urban development.
Marcus Mitchell of Trenton said ranchers can either sell their land or face rising property taxes as those around them do. He pointed to Levy County, where he said his in-laws were experiencing such an effect.
"It's more or less driving them out of there," he said.
Flagler County resident C.D. Wall said he doesn't begrudge ranchers who give up the hard work and sell their land. The 71-year-old said he grew up on a South Georgia farm without electricity and appreciates some progress, but hopes it can be balanced with the preservation of rural land.
"Progress is ruining us in a way," he said.
Sharp was even more blunt, calling real estate agents "dirt peddlers" and placing them with politicians and the media as banes of society. He said he was sure the Great Florida Cattle Drive would join the drives it recreates as a relic in history.
"I have dreams for tomorrow, but I have respect for yesteryear and it's gone," he said.
Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 352-338-3176 or crabben@gvillesun.com.
House moves to open Gulf area to oil and gas drilling
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House approved oil and gas drilling Friday in a vast area of the Gulf of Mexico south of Florida's Panhandle and agreed to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty payments to Gulf states to restore coastal wetlands and repair hurricane damage.
The drilling provision was attached to a package of popular tax breaks that were approved by vote of 367-45 as lawmakers scrambled to adjourn and end of the 109th Congress.
The tax legislation, including the drilling provision, was expected to be combined with a trade bill and then sent to the Senate in hopes of prompt approval - assuming last-minute roadblocks can be avoided in the Senate. It wasn't clear late Friday when the Senate might take up the legislation.
The House bill opens to energy companies 8.3 million acres in the east-central Gulf of Mexico that is currently off-limits to drilling. The Interior Department is required to issue its first leases for the area within a year and tap what is believed to be 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
The country uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day. The gas believed in the area would be enough to heat 6 million homes for 15 years.
Supporters of the measure, including Gov. Jeb Bush, said it was good for Florida because it provided a certain protection for the state, creating a buffer that guarantees drilling won't occur within 125 miles of the coast.
That will prevent closer-in drilling in the future, Bush said.
"It's better to have that kind of permanency than have a change in policy in the out years," Bush told reporters. "I would be supportive of that."
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fort Myers, also said some protection was better than none.
"While I would have preferred a solution that empowered states like Florida to determine their own destiny on this important issue, today's legislation provides a sound solution that will protect our precious environment and our economy," Mack said in a statement.
Environmentalists were critical of the measure.
"The U.S. House has voted to give an early Christmas present to Big Oil and Florida gets a stocking stuffed with tar balls," Environment Florida director Mark Ferrulo said in a statement. "The give away of 8 million acres of waters directly off Florida's coast to the oil industry is bad news for anyone who cares about the health of our marine wildlife and coastal environment."
It was the revenue sharing provision that prompted the sharpest debate Friday.
It calls on the Interior Department to provide Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama with 37.5 percent of future royalties collected from Gulf oil production. Louisiana would get about half. The states' share is anticipated to be several hundred million a year initially, and grow into the billions of dollars a year after 2017 because of increased production and expansion of the royalty sharing to all Gulf production.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called it "a raid on the federal Treasury" that could amount to as much as $170 billion over the next 50 years.
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., said she could not understand funneling billions of dollars in royalties from oil and gas taken from federal waters to four states "when this country has record deficits as far as the eye can see."
The Gulf Coast states, which now get less than 2 percent of all the royalties collected from offshore production, have argued that new revenue sharing is long overdue.
For years "the Louisiana delegation has been asking for help and it's been like the tree falling in the woods, unheard," complained Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La.
An attempt by Markey to sidetrack the tax measure by adding an amendment that would have upended the delicate agreement with the Senate failed 207-205.
The royalty recovery effort has broad support in both the House and Senate.
But Rep. Bill Thomas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said any change in the bill could undo the informal agreement reached with the Senate and kill any chance of getting the legislation through because of the time constraints before adjournment. Under Senate rules, a single senator can force considerable delay once a bill comes over from the House.
The new drilling area was crafted to gain support of Florida's lawmakers, with its eastern edge more than 200 miles from state beaches.
"This protects Florida," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
The drilling provision is identical to a bill passed by the Senate earlier this year. House GOP leaders had sought much broader offshore energy development that would have lifted drilling bans that have been in place as long as 25 years across 85 percent of the U.S. coastline, essentially everywhere except for the western Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska.
Senate leaders said the House measure couldn't pass the Senate. So, after suffering losses in last month's election, House GOP leaders accepted the Senate-passed bill that was limited to the Gulf region.---
The drilling measure is S 3711.
Warming trend?
Robert Bridges, Democrat ReporterIt's been a while since it's gotten as cold as it's
expected to be tonight. The National Weather Service says the last
cold snap to rival this one was in the winter of 2002-03. And the
last time it got really cold (not just by Florida standards) was
more than 20 years ago. On Jan. 21, 1985, the mercury hit six
degrees. The high that day was 29.
But bitter cold hasn't been the norm for the last few decades,
according to Marion Catalano of WQHL radio in Live Oak. Catalano is
the station's certified weather observer for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. She's been there since 1987, but the
station's records date to 1955.
"We're definitely in a warming trend," Catalano said.
"Just looking through our books since '55, there is a definite
increase in temperatures late in the year."
Catalano isn't a meteorologist and doesn't claim to have the
explanation for the trend. Is global warming affecting Live Oak?
Catalano didn't put it that way. But she said the local warming
trend is undeniable. "The winter months are definitely getting
warmer than they were in 1955," she said.
WEATHER
Curbs on water use likely this dry season
A quiet hurricane season and a dry fall left South Florida on the verge of a drought, which could prompt water managers to limit lawn watering and car washing.
BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR
mpinzur@MiamiHerald.com
Document | South Florida Water Management District's fact
sheetNo one wanted another active hurricane season in 2006, but South Florida's calm summer is having consequences. The lack of serious rain has left the region on the verge of a drought, and water managers could begin imposing mandatory restrictions next month on lawn watering and car washing.
Regulators already have issued a water-shortage warning from Palm Beach County to Monroe County and asked residents to cut back voluntarily.
Additional restrictions are likely for Broward, County Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger said.
''We don't know when this is going to have to go into effect,'' she said. ``It will depend on how much rain we get this winter.''
Ordinary consumers can help with common-sense conservation: limit showers to five minutes; turn off the faucet while shaving and brushing teeth; don't run the hose constantly while washing cars.
Water managers are scheduled to meet next week in West Palm Beach to decide whether to impose restrictions in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. Restrictions are difficult to enforce, though, because utilities cannot simply cut off water supplies to particular neighborhoods or addresses.
''It is the honor system, but we have to have a bit of conscience in this community,'' said Ana María Monte Flores, outreach coordinator for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department.
Rainfall has been 22 percent below average this year in Broward (where it has been nearly 17 inches under the norm), 16 percent below average in Miami-Dade and 33 percent below average in Palm Beach County, according to the district.
STARTED EARLY
This year's dry season started earlier than usual, according to National Weather Service forecaster Gordon Strassberg, and weather patterns have not shifted to suggest any changes this month.
But a strengthening El Niño in the Pacific could bring some extra rain in the winter -- sustained, widespread storms instead of the spotty squalls that haunt the summer.
Such storms could help recharge Lake Okeechobee, South Florida's secondary water source after the Biscayne Aquifer, and is critical during the winter dry season.
THREE FEET SHORT
The lake is more than three feet below its normal level, prompting mandatory restrictions in parts of Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Lee and Martin counties: Car washing and lawn watering are limited to twice a week in four-hour early-morning windows, and commercial users have been forced to cut consumption by 15 percent.
Mandatory restrictions in South Florida would be the first since 2001 -- a decision that would reverberate from small carwashes to massive agribusiness.
Restrictions can affect businesses across the region and are an especially grave concern for South Dade's agricultural interests.
BAD FOR BUSINESS
''Homeowners freak out, think there's no water, and they stop planting,'' said Bobby Lee, president and owner of Superior Foliage Inc. near Homestead. When demand drops, so do his sales. The plants need to be watered -- just in his fields instead of in customers' lawns.
Lee said watering restrictions sometimes backfire, prompting homeowners and businesses to use more water.
''It's like telling you when you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner,'' he said. ``If you're not hungry at breakfast time but you know lunch isn't till 1, you're going to eat anyway.''
The restrictions can actually help commercial carwashes in the short term.
The first round of water restrictions is usually limited to homes, which drives up business at places such as The Car Wash in Coconut Grove. But general manager Rudy Capi said more drastic rules can limit the hours he can stay open.
''It would definitely put us in a bad situation if they put restrictions on us,'' he said.
The immediate rules will likely be less draconian than those used during the 2001 dry season, according to Nicolas Gutierrez, a member of the water management district's governing board.
VIOLATORS FINED
That year, the worst part of a four-year drought, fountains were shut down, pressure-cleaning boats and driveways was prohibited, and restaurants served water on only request. Across the region, violators were fined $430,000.
The current situation is not as precarious.
''We may just need heightened voluntary restrictions,'' Gutierrez said.
The broader issue, he said, is persuading government and businesses to do more to conserve and recycle water.
Parties are close to an agreement on spray field
Tallahassee, Wakulla County and environmentalists seem to be moving toward an agreement on the city's wastewater spray field.
The Florida Wildlife Federation and Wakulla County filed challenges in March against a proposed state permit allowing almost 31 million gallons of treated wastewater to be sprayed daily on crops at the city's Southeast Farm.
Scientists say nitrogen from the 20 million gallons sprayed now is likely seeping into the aquifer and coming out at Wakulla Springs. There, the nitrogen feeds aquatic weeds and algae that are choking the state park swimming area.
Wakulla County Commission Ed Brimner said this morning that the commission is scheduled to discuss a possible permit agreement on Dec. 18.
"I will say I am very, very optimistic that very positive things are going to happen with the spray field," Brimner said.
City officials did not return phone calls on Friday. Mayor John Marks last week said the parties were meeting to work out an agreement.
"It's going to be settled," Marks said. He declined to elaborate because a judge has ordered mediation the case.
Manley Fuller, Florida Wildlife Federation president, said "significant progress" had been made but he declined to elaborate because of the mediation.
Joe Glisson of Ochlockonee Bay also filed legal challenges. Attorney General Charlie Crist intervened on behalf of the challengers.
A Crist spokeswoman said the Attorney General's Office is still optimistic but there is nothing new to report.
Alafia River Board OK's Funds for StudyThe Alafia River Basin Board agreed Thursday to amend its budget to include funds to pay $146,000 toward a $292,000 study. Polk County will pay the other half.
The issue involves a six-square-mile watershed running from the Christina area to just north of Mulberry and including portions of the west side of the city. The drainage basin is part of the headwaters of the North Prong of the Alafia River.
The Christina watershed is one of 15 watersheds in Polk County that do not have evaluation or management plans, according to a Southwest Florida Water Management District staff report, which recommended approval of the funds.
Jeff Spence, Polk's natural resources director, said county officials proposed the project a couple years ago but could not come up with the matching funds.
The matching funds are now available as a result of a decision by county commissioners to set aside part of the receipts from the county's public service tax to deal with drainage issues.
Spence said one of the challenges in coming up with a plan is that the land in the watershed involves a number of subdivisions, each with its own drainage system.
He said he didn't want to do anything without looking at the entire system to avoid simply shifting the problem.
Spence said the work will include looking at whether the drainage pipes are the right size, considering whether there's a better way to manage the water and devising a comprehensive plan.
The evaluation is expected to take four months. The plan will take a year, Swiftmud officials said.
Implementing the study's recommendations will require additional funding.
Spence said until the study is completed he has no idea what the price tag will be.
"It could be $100,000 or it could be $10 million," he said.
Tom Palmer can be reached at 863-802-7535 or tom.palmer@theledger.com.
With lawsuits looming, city and county to meet
By TONY MARREROlmarrero@hernandotoday.com
The Brooksville City Council and the Hernando County Commission, along with planning staff on both sides, will sit down next week to hash out planning concerns that sparked the county to threaten two lawsuits against the city.
The two bodies will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the county commission chambers of the county courthouse, 20 N. Main St., Brooksville. The public is invited.
The main topic of discussion will be Brooksville’s recent annexation of two parcels, totaling some 900 acres near the southern edge of the city limits.
County officials say the city should have held off on taking action on the voluntary annexations until staff on both sides could properly plan for the potential impact that future development on the site could have on roads and other infrastructure.
The city has maintained that those discussions can come after the annexations. The city council approved the annexations Nov. 20 despite the threat of a lawsuit.
Three of the four county commissioners, at their regular meeting Tuesday, were ready to give the legal department the go-ahead to file the placeholder lawsuit against the city.
But Brooksville Mayor David Pugh showed up and asked the commission to hold off on filing the suit so he could go back to fellow council members to come up with a time to meet.
The county has 30 days from the date the city approved the annexation to file a suit. A placeholder suit reserves the right to sue, but the county can choose whether or not to serve the suit.
Officials also hope to resolve another matter that has already resulted in the county filing just such a placeholder lawsuit against the city.
The city recently approved an amendment to its comprehensive plan that could allow up to 999 residential units and 100,000 square feet of commercial space at Majestic Oaks, a development on Mondon Hill Road.
County officials say that is too many homes. The density, they say, would overwhelm Mondon Hill and other local roads.
City officials say the plan amendment only sets the maximum density that the developer could request.
Reporter Tony Marrero can be contacted at 352-544-5286.
Contentious project to be decided by new commission
Nicole King
Staff Writer
EUSTIS - Amid a round of applause, Eustis City Commissioners approved a resolution to postpone a vote on The Meadows subdivision. The Meadows is nearly 604 acres and has 1,990 lots.
Mayor Jonnie Hale introduced the resolution, saying she didn't want outgoing commissioners Gwen Manning and Frank Royce to go out amid criticism.
"I just feel it should go to the next people and let the new people work on it," Hale said. "They've been hardworking and dedicated commissioners, and it would have looked bad on them if it had passed. I just didn't think it was fair."
The commission will take up the issue at its Jan. 2 meeting, during which newly elected commissioners Scott Ales and Karen LeHeup-Smith will be seated.
The Meadows is planned to be built in three phases. The developer's plans call for construction to be spread out over a
15-year period. The density is to average no more than three units per acre with a mix of housing including single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes and condos. If approved, the subdivision would become the biggest in the city.
The land, which is along the north side of County Road 44-A in the Clear Lake area, is owned by Orlando-based John Kingman Keating and John F. Ballard, who are being represented by Green Consulting Group Inc.
The Meadows has been widely contested by residents.
"The postponement is probably the right thing. I just moved to Eustis from Orlando," Debbie Houben said. "I'm totally against it. I came up from Orlando, so I know what will happen if they don't keep an eye on growth."
Marie Baker has been a Eustis resident for more than 42 years. She and a large group of residents attended the meeting to voice their opposition.
"It's the best Christmas present I ever could have gotten. We'll keep on top of it," Baker said. "We'll be back in January and hopefully, the developer will realize that maybe we're rural, but we care about our community. I don't want it to be like Altamonte. A lot of people are moving here because they like the rural character, and if we keep building, we'll lose that."
In other business, the Eustis City Commission voted to cancel the regularly scheduled meeting for Dec. 21. The meeting was canceled because its nearness to the holidays might have made attending problematic for city staff and residents.
Judge denies bid of former Scouts for camp
BY CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Circuit Judge Durand J. Adams said that too much time had passed since the camp was given to the Scouts council to dispute ownership of the camp.
Several former Scouts filed the suit as the Manatee County Boys Development Association -- the group that founded the camp in 1929 -- to stop it from being sold to developers. The association had asked the judge to cancel the deed that gave the camp to the Southwest Florida Boy Scouts Council in 1991.
"We're pleased with the judge's ruling," said Kevin Hennessy, attorney for the Scouts council. "It certainly dispels any dispute that some people might have had in their mind that the Boy Scouts Council are not the rightful owner of the property."
But the ruling was not a complete victory for the Scouts council. The judge denied its request for a ruling that it can sell Camp Flying Eagle for development without violating a provision of the donation that the land be used for Scouting and youth activities. The decision means the case is likely to go to trial. No date has been set yet.
"The order doesn't really do any damage to the Development Association's lawsuit going forward," said John Harllee, the attorney for the association.
Having hosted Scout retreats for more than 75 years, Camp Flying Eagle is almost sacred ground for generations of Manatee Scouts. But some council members say encroaching development means it is no longer the best place for a wilderness experience. In 2005, a developer offered $12 million for the camp.
Even if the judge rules in the Scout council's favor, it would likely not be able to sell the camp because of a decision by Manatee County to restrict the camp to recreation. The Scouts council has filed a petition with the state seeking to overturn that decision. It has been joined in that dispute by the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, whose Camp Honi Hanta was also affected by the county's ruling.
City keeps at mobile home park
By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
Published December 9, 2006
LARGO - The battle between a Clearwater-Largo Road mobile home park and the city moved ahead on several fronts this week as the city's code enforcement board filed a report concluding that 13 homes at the park are unsafe.
Both sides have fought over code enforcement and jurisdictional issues since July, when city inspectors tagged more than a dozen mobile homes as uninhabitable.
The board's report came in response to an appeal by park owner Key Largo Communities Corp. Its recommendation will be forwarded to the City Commission, which will consider the matter Jan. 2.
If commissioners concur, the owner of the park, 1760 Clearwater-Largo Road, will have 90 days to remove the homes or fix them according to mobile home repair codes, city building official Mike Sizemore said.
Owner Andrea Trani said the city is targeting only her park - formerly called Sunpiper but now, in protest, called No Go Largo Village - because it was illegally annexed and stands in the way of the city's redevelopment efforts.
"They're beating up on us," said Trani, 56. "It's about a turf war. It's that we're in the wrong spot."
Sizemore said the issue is not about turf but about safety.
"The conditions out there are absolutely deplorable," he said.
City officials said a July inspection showed a slew of violations, including exposed electrical wiring, sewage leaks, tenants in homes without electricity, extension cords running from one unit to another, unpermitted construction, work without asbestos remediation, rental units missing hurricane tie-downs, holes in floors and exterior walls, blocked fire rescue exits, and missing smoke detectors.
More recently, friction with the city arose over a sign erected on the property displaying the park's new name. Officials said the park owner didn't apply for a permit to paint and install it.
On Thursday, the code enforcement board fined the park owner $50 a day for putting up the sign without a permit and $150 a day for installing water meters without permits. The fines are scheduled to begin Friday and will continue until the owner comes into compliance.
The park owner said it repainted an old sign and installed it because the fire marshal suggested that the park put up a sign with its name and address on it.
Largo Fire Marshal Jim Warman said Friday that his department generally directs businesses to post their address, not install signs with the name on them.
"Any signage would have to meet community development rules," he said.
During the hearing Thursday, the owner's attorney, Brian Battaglia, objected to the proceedings at least six times, saying the city didn't have jurisdiction in the matter.
In response, the board said repeatedly that it wasn't going to rule on jurisdictional issues.
Last month, the park owner filed a lawsuit in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court challenging the June 2005 annexation of the park.
The crux of Key Largo Communities' argument centers on property ownership.
The property has had three owners in recent years. R2 Property Co. owned the park until June 29. That was when it conveyed the park to a company represented by Patrick Byrne. The same day, Byrne deeded it to Key Largo Communities.
The current owner said it bought the park and nearby Braginton Mobile Home Park for about $2.6-million.
Byrne signed an annexation petition in March 2005, more than a year before he purchased the property.
Seven months after the annexation, an attorney representing R2 Property informed officials that Byrne, who had a contract to buy the property, didn't have the authority to okay the annexation.
Largo recently argued in court that R2 Property never legally challenged the annexation and that once Byrne's company took ownership, Key Largo Communities' argument about ownership became moot.
The park's dispute with Largo goes back to July 26, when the city issued more than 30 violation notices. The park owner denied access to units, but officials said they were able to observe violations from examining the outside of units and viewing the inside through windows.
The city obtained a search warrant to enter homes and inspected the property again Aug. 8. That inspection found 150 moderate to serious violations in 13 rental units and other structures, officials said.
Trani said when she first bought the property, she was eager to get along with the city, calling her company Key Largo Communities for that reason.
The company was going to paint all of the mobile homes pastel colors and plant flowers, she said. It later planned to develop it.
But the city didn't play fair, she said.
And Trani's partner, Helene Provenzano, said she will continue to buck the city until a court rules otherwise.
"I'm not cooperating with Largo until a judge tells me I'm in Largo," said Provenzano, 43.
Times researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Lorri Helfand can be reached at 727 445-4155 or lorri@sptimes.com.
County Retains Land-Use Firm
Published: Dec 9, 2006
DADE CITY - County leaders have agreed to pay their planning consultant additional $135,000 to review nine comprehensive growth plan amendments in coming months.
Commissioners unanimously approved the contract this week but urged County Administrator John Gallagher to hire a permanent plan reviewer. Comprehensive plan amendments typically involve significant land-use changes and require technical analysis by county and usually state officials.
Commissioner Michael Cox, the board's newest member, suggested paying a new planner as much as $100,000 a year - which is higher than any other salary in the department, including Growth Manager Sam Steffey's.
Gallagher told commissioners he's had trouble hiring qualified applicants for several planning positions, even after raising salaries significantly.
Cox asked whether commissioners should expect to retain Orlando-based Gladding Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart Inc. twice each year for more than $100,000 for similar services.
Consultant Frances Chandler Marino said her firm, which in the past few years has helped the county amend its long-range growth plan, considers the latest contract part of a transition from the old way to a new approach.
The county should find a staff planner, she said, although many of her clients in nearby cities and counties are having similar difficulty finding such professionals.
About five Gladding Jackson staff members will review the comprehensive plan amendments along with Pasco staff, Marino said.
"In our opinion, it is temporary for Gladding Jackson to participate," she said. "It's challenging and difficult to hire people right now, but it really needs to be handled in-house. It's definitely not a long-term solution."
The county raised wages for planners by more than 20 percent after a salary study, Personnel Director Barbara De Simone said. A midlevel Planner II used to have a pay range of $35,963 to $58,567. That position now pays between $43,614 and $74,039.
Steffey, the department head, has worked for the county since 1978 and is paid $96,800 per year.
In addition to salaries, the county must provide benefits to employees, which amount to an additional 42.56 percent of each salary, De Simone said. So hiring a Planner II at the top of the pay scale would cost about $90,000 per year.
De Simone said the higher salaries are attracting more candidates, and the county has conducted interviews for four vacant planning positions.
"We're making a little headway," she said. "We have had some good interviews."
Higher salaries for utility plant operators also have attracted more candidates, De Simone said. The county could have 10 new positions and several other vacancies filled before year's end. A slower building market also is bringing more candidates to government jobs.
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.
Regional light rail back on track
CHUIN-WEI YAPPublished December 9, 2006
An old idea is finding new life in central Pasco, as a regional commuter network becomes the latest buzz among transportation planners.
In the last two months, the idea of using CSX Corp.'s central Pasco freight line for regional mass transit has resurfaced in ongoing talks between the Tampa Bay Partnership and CSX, said Dewey Mitchell, a past chairman of the partnership involved in the talks.
The idea was last floated in the early 1990s, as part of a regional proposal that petered out for lack of a critical mass of population.
But now, development in Pasco is helping to fuel a sense of urgency for mass transit, and regional officials are pinpointing areas for potential commuter rail lines in the future.
"The key is setting aside the corridors and making these corridors available; the corridors are rapidly closing," Mitchell said.
The Florida Department of Transportation is helping the partnership identify corridor possibilities, Mitchell said. Bob Clifford, DOT's planning manager, was unavailable Friday for comment.
The partnership is now working to identify corridors where rights-of-way need to be set aside, Mitchell said.
In Pasco, the right-of-way corridors identified are the major north-south thoroughfares of U.S. 19, the Suncoast Parkway, Interstate 75, the rail line hugging U.S. 41, and along power lines.
They also include the east-west routes of state roads 54 and 52.
"There has been a dialogue with CSX at the conceptual stage," Mitchell said. "We didn't get specific ... It's possible the existing rail line could be utilized, or the existing right-of-way (next to the rail line) could be utilized."
Meg Sacks, CSX's spokeswoman for Florida, did not reply to a call for comment Friday.
In Pasco, CSX has a freight rail line threading through Lutz and Land O'Lakes; the line starts in Tampa's port and currently dead-ends just northwest of Brooksville.
* * *
The current round of talks lays the groundwork for a proposed regional transit authority, armed with public spending powers.
The partnership, a non-profit regional marketing agency, would pass the baton to that authority, Mitchell said.
A bill to create a regional authority is working its way through the Legislature; supporters hope it will be passed in the spring.
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who is steering the bill through the Senate, said the bill would give the authority the power to issue bonds and spend tax dollars.
There has not yet been a cost estimate for the current regional mass transit proposal, but the idea is to have a network stretching across Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Polk, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties, with park-and-ride stations dotting rail lines, Mitchell said.
Proponents of mass transit say a regional authority is key, to iron out different preferences among counties. For example, Pinellas desires an elevated monorail, but Hillsborough wants light rail that runs on the ground, said Tim Hayes, a Land O'Lakes attorney and a former member of the defunct Tampa Bay Commuter Rail Authority.
Today, there is no consensus yet on the type of rail system that would be used, Mitchell said.
* * *
The challenge would lie in making commuter rail worth taxpayers' while.
In the past, mass transit proposals in the Tampa Bay area have died because there were not enough people to justify such proposals.
Downtown Tampa in the early 1990s, for example, only had a working population of about 30,000, not enough to generate enough of an urban core around which to build a mass transit network, Hayes said.
But things have changed.
Population in the Tampa Bay area has grown swiftly. Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater currently are home to 2.6-million people.
Between 1990 and 2005, Pasco's population has jumped from 281,131 to 429,065, according to the U.S. Census. Tampa also now has major urban attractions that could form an urban core, Hayes said.
The Tampa Bay Partnership is modeling its mass transit hopes on comparable systems in cities like Denver; Salt Lake City; Dallas; and Washington D.C., Mitchell said.
But the Tampa Bay area's urban landscape is also a lot more sprawling than these cities, which makes it less conducive to a mass transit system, because that sprawl would drive up the cost of a rail-based network.
The question that confronts the as-yet-unborn authority is: Will the Tampa Bay area's growth support the high investment cost of mass transit?
"If government has to subsidize this, have we really solved anything, apart from pollution and things like that?" Hayes asked. "If you have to drive more than 10 miles to get to the station, it won't make sense. People will just drive to their destination instead."
Researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this article. Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at (813)909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.
Venice and county close to agreement
On Friday, city and county leaders agreed on how long the contract will last, clearing what had been a major hurdle in their joint planning talks. With only small details left to hammer out, Venice and the county are virtually ensured a document that both sides can vote into effect by the Jan. 4 deadline.
The Sarasota County commissioners had pushed for a joint planning agreement that would be in effect until at least 2050, but backed off that demand Friday, clearing the way for agreement with Venice.
"I think 25 years ... is the lifetime as far as land-use determinations go," said Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton.
The Venice-county agreement defines future annexation areas and would protect the city from any countywide charter amendment that would give the county veto power over building densities in annexed areas. The threat of such a charter amendment brought Venice and North Port to the bargaining table in September with the county, which has long criticized the two cities for their rapid growth.
Other features of the Venice agreement include defining who will be responsible for basic infrastructure and services such as water, sewer and trash collection in joint planning areas.
North Port deal not close
While Venice and the county appear to be close to an agreement, the same cannot be said for county negotiations with North Port, a city that continues to spar with the county on issues ranging from where the city might annex in the future to who will pay for the massive infrastructure and service needs in this fast-growing city.
Whether both sides will agree to the details regarding where annexations can take place and where the two governments will collaborate on planning remains to be seen.
County commissioners have been cold on North Port growing at all. The city already stands at a whopping 103 square miles, and many of the areas that border the city are environmentally sensitive or rural land.
"While cities tend not to be the custodians of rural lands, counties are," County Commissioner Nora Patterson said.
$3 Million Powerboat Races To Boost Alternative Fuels
Published: Dec. 08, 2006
Pete Bethune has a wave-piercing, $3 million dollar powerboat that looks like something dreamed up by Jules Verne.
In sailing it from his native Auckland, New Zealand, to Tampa Bay he has been mistakenly attacked by the Colombian Navy, driven it through 40-foot storm waves and fished off remote reefs.
But the real adventure aboard Earthrace begins March 6, when captain Bethune and three other crew members begin a journey they hope breaks the World Powerboat Authority speed record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat.
They plan to chase the 75-day mark achieved by the British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998 in a tri-hulled vessel powered by biodiesel. Bethune is racing more to bring awareness to renewable fuels than anything else. "The record's just a way to give the boat mana," said Bethune, 41. "That's a word the Maori people of New Zealand use to mean profile or prestige." Earthrace will be docked today and Sunday at the Tampa Convention Center.
The boat's skipper and owner formerly worked in oil exploration for Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
I"I swam on the dark side and the force was strong," Bethune said. "I understand the oil industry and its limitations … It solidified my beliefs on the need for biodiesel and ethanols." Bethune raised and borrowed money to build Earthrace while radically altering life for him, his wife and boat co-owner, Sharyn, and their two young daughters. "But we're lucky to follow something we believe in so passionately," Bethune said. "This is sweet, mate."
He glanced across the basin at the boat Wednesday afternoon from a wooden bench in Straub Park in St. Petersburg. Earthrace was moored there part of the week and attracted plenty of cell phone photographers and curiosity-seekers, including a pair of divers in wet suits who volunteered to inspect the hull. "It's a very cool-looking boat with universal appeal," Bethune said. "It doesn't matter where you go, mate, it will attract a crowd." Even in the waters 150 miles off of Nicaragua.
"We were shot at there by the Colombian Navy," Bethune said. "We thought they were a random pirate boat, and after they boarded the boat, they said they took us for drug runners." Houston is their next stop on a promotional tour leading up to the two-month race. Bethune's goal is a 65-day record.
Cinematographer Ryan Heron is capturing it all on film for a documentary Bethune said could air in the United States on the Discovery Channel. Film blogs can be viewed at www.earthrace.net, and the Columbian Navy encounter is the conclusion of Blog 31. The voyage that will begin and end in Barbados while passing through the Panama Canal will cover 24,000 nautical miles. They will make 12 stops to refuel in ports such as Acapulco and San Diego. "This has been a very unusual existence and I'm running the risk of hardly knowing my children," Bethune said.
He pursed his lips, squinted into the sunlight beyond Earthrace, and said, "But this is an adventure, mate."
Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Earthrace, to see a detailed graphic of the biodiesel-burning trimaran boat.
Interest-free insurance loans available
TIMES WIRESPublished December 9, 2006
Pasco County is taking applications until Dec. 22 for its noninterest loan program to help low- income residents pay their insurance premiums. Homeowners can receive up to $5,000. The program targets people who are disabled or age 62 or older, and they must have homes assessed at $120,000 or less. So far, about 25 to 30 people have applied, said George Romagnoli, community development manager. For information, call (727) 834-3445 in west Pasco; (813) 996-7341, ext. 3445 in central Pasco; or (352) 521-4274, ext. 3445, in east Pasco.
Connerton takes 3 builder awards
Connerton won three awards from the Tampa Bay Builders Association last month. The awards were for Best Developer Brochure, Best Developer Web site and Best Developer 4 Color Ad. The 4,800-acre new town is still under construction and eventually will have 8,500 homes and more than 3-million square feet of commercial space.
Lobbyist had help in deal for land
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 09, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County managers steered a public land sale to a politically powerful lawyer now accused of conspiring with former County Commissioner Tony Masilotti, a deal that was scuttled after federal authorities opened their investigation of the two men.
William R. Boose III, a county lobbyist charged last month in Masilotti's corruption case, was first in line to get the county-owned land - 10 acres off Lake Worth Road known as the "Pike" property - when he and partner Herb Kahlert yanked their bid, records show. Their withdrawal, on June 6, came weeks after a federal grand jury began pursuing published reports that Boose had helped conceal Masilotti's profit from a land deal in Martin County.
Before Boose and Kahlert withdrew, a series of decisions by county real estate managers had positioned the partners to win the Pike parcel, records show:
• After a private meeting with the two partners, county administrators in June 2005 tossed aside the first offers on the property and reopened the bidding for Boose and Kahlert. They also changed the rules for the deal, allowing the partners to propose a land swap instead of the all-cash offers previously required.
• After the new bids were opened in July 2005, county property managers valued the land-and-cash package offered by Boose and Kahlert at $2.2 million, at least $500,000 more than the men paid for the land, real estate records show - giving the partners a leading edge. Instead of getting an appraisal - a standard county practice - the county manager who evaluated the package said he made an educated guess of its value after consulting with Boose.
• When a $3 million all-cash offer trumped the partners' $2.2 million package, managers delayed the award, saying the bids were complex and needed more analysis. After three months, the high bidder withdrew its offer in October 2005 - putting Boose and Kahlert on top.
County stalled on site
Centennial Real Estate Investors, a company that had offered $2 million, became the highest bidder after Boose and Kahlert backed out in June. But managers continued to stall, this time saying the county now wanted to build "workforce" housing on the property.
Centennial sued in October, accusing the county of "an ongoing, blatant, dishonest course of fraudulent conduct." The county has denied any wrongdoing and maintains politics had nothing to do with it.
The real estate auction was handled by the county's Property and Real Estate Management Division, a unit criticized for its handling of another land sale that was cited in Masilotti's criminal case. Masilotti, who has said he will plead guilty to a federal corruption charge, allegedly helped a friend acquire the property and win county development approvals while failing to disclose that he had accepted free gambling trips from his pal.
Boose had no involvement in that deal. He is accused of helping conceal Masilotti's $1.3 million profit from a 2003 government land acquisition in Martin County. When FBI agents started asking questions this past spring, Boose allegedly lied and falsified legal bills to disguise the fact he didn't charge Masilotti full price for legal services. He had worked on Masilotti's deal while lobbying the county commission for developer clients. His business relationship with the commissioner never was disclosed, the grand jury reported.
Boose pleaded not guilty this week, but a court hearing to change his plea is scheduled Thursday. If convicted, he faces a maximum three-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine. Boose did not return messages left with his lawyers and at his office.
Well-connected in political circles, Boose in the 1970s worked as an assistant county attorney and later as the county's first planning director. While a public servant, he worked closely with Kahlert, then the county's chief engineer. Kahlert resigned in 1991 after it came to light that his family's real estate investments had benefited from road-building decisions made by his department. Kahlert did not return messages left at his office.
Properties packaged
Kahlert owned property in the northwest corner of the county that for years had been sought by the county for hiking and horse-riding trails stretching from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean. Until June 2005, he and other landowners along the trail route had been unwilling to sell.
Boose, through a limited liability company, acquired purchase options on property along the route, then packaged it with the property owned by Kahlert and a secret land trust. On June 20, 2005, they met with county Environmental Resources Management Director Richard Walesky and his staff to pitch the land swap.
Hours earlier, Kahlert met with County Commissioner Karen Marcus, who is so close to Boose and Kahlert that she notes their birthdays in her commission calendar. Marcus said the meeting had nothing to do with the land swap. She said she recalled it concerned another property Kahlert owned near Boynton Beach.
Marcus referred questions to Commissioner Jeff Koons, who for years has pushed for the hiking trails. The Pike property also is in his commission district. But Koons said he was out of the loop. "I don't think I ever talked to Kahlert or Boose," he said. "I let staff handle it."
Walesky said he liked the proposal, but making it happen was complicated. The Pike property had been advertised for cash bids that May, and the deadline for submitting offers was June 22 at 2 p.m. - precisely 48 hours after his meeting with Boose and Kahlert. Two other county agencies - the Water Utilities Department, which owns the Pike parcel, and the Property and Real Estate Management Division, which was handling the sale - quickly would have to agree to cancel the bidding and rewrite the sale requirements to allow the swap.
Water Utilities Director Bevin Beaudet agreed, as did real estate division Director Ross Hering. Like Walesky, both Beaudet and Hering said that swapping the land for hiking trails appeared to be in the county's best interest.
"I don't remember speaking to any commissioner about it." Walesky said. "If there was any pressure, it was from Bill Boose."
Hering said that while he was willing to rebid the property, he wasn't happy about it. Out of town at the time, Hering wrote to his staff at 1:56 a.m. on June 22, directing them to alert bidders on the Pike property that their offers would be returned unopened. He also wrote to the boss of his department, Audrey Wolf, asking her to advise Walesky of the cancellation - "just so Rich cools his jets and doesn't create a further stink while I am gone. I'll deal with his a— upon my return."
"I was a little cranky about it," Hering said in an interview last month.
"Nice guy," Walesky said, when told about Hering's e-mail. "Apparently, he felt he was under some kind of pressure. Ross just felt he was in jeopardy because he was doing something unusual."
Quickly, the Pike property was put out again for bids, with a July 20 deadline for submittals. The top offers: $3 million from Poinciana Homes of Broward, $2 million from Centennial Real Estate Investors and the package from Boose and Kahlert - $600,000 plus 78 acres. They proposed building 48 homes on the Pike property, the same as Centennial. Poinciana wanted to build 37 homes.
Records show the 78 acres offered by the partners were owned or controlled by Kahlert, Port Mayaca Land, a company owned by Kahlert and Boose, and a secret land trust represented by Richard Crum - the office manager at Boose's law firm who also figures in the Masilotti corruption case.
Crum represented the trust that helped conceal Masilotti's profit from his Martin County land deal. Crum resigned from that position shortly after the Masilotti investigation was launched. In bid documents submitted to Palm Beach County, Kahlert and Boose did not disclose who Crum represented in the Pike land deal.
Deal valued at $3 million
Boose and Kahlert contended their land-and-cash package amounted to $3 million, according to Walesky, the environmental resources management director. But Walesky said he was skeptical, noting that the county recently bought land for $10,000 an acre in the area, about a third of what the partners said their land was worth.
Crum and Kahlert had purchased 33 acres of the land for less than $20,000 in 1996, real estate records show. Port Mayaca Land, which held purchase options on the remaining 45 acres, paid $643,000, or about $14,100 an acre in September 2005, right when the bids were being evaluated.
Presuming Crum's and Kahlert's 33 acres was worth that much at the time, the land-and-cash package amounted to about $1.7 million. Hering, however, placed its value at $2.2 million, a price that edged out Centennial Real Estate Investors $2 million, and made it the top bid once Poinciana Homes pulled out.
Hering said he didn't get a new appraisal of the property, that he looked at some appraisals made in the area several years earlier. He also consulted with Boose.
"We had major valuation issues," Hering said. "I talked with Boose and he gave me the rundown of what he thought it was worth. I don't think there were any commissioners involved at this point."
But in the end, the value of the property didn't matter. With the FBI shadowing Boose, the partners withdrew their offer. Crum also exited. On April 20, the trustee deeded his share of the property to Port Mayaca Lake Estates, a company whose manager is Boose.
Now the company and Kahlert have other plans for the property. Recently, they tried to sell the land to the South Florida Water Management District - the agency that had bought Masilotti's Martin County land without knowing he had a stake in it. The district's acquisition manager, Ruth Clements, said she steered clear once she knew Boose was involved. "We're a lot smarter than that," she said.
Kahlert, meanwhile, has applied for a state permit to reactivate an old sand and shellrock mine on 160 acres that includes the hiking trail route offered to the county.
Robert Krause, a county environmental resources supervisor who handles rock-mine regulation, said recently enacted mining restrictions shouldn't affect the Kahlert/Port Mayaca property because it long has had the needed zoning for rock pits. Commissioners last month voted to block new rock mining in Palm Beach County for two years until an environmental study is completed showing how rock blasting affects the Everglades Agricultural Area.
Krause said the restrictions actually could benefit Kahlert and Port Mayaca Lake Estates. "I guess this now makes the property more valuable," he said.
The push for the restrictions was led by Commissioner Marcus, who said she was concerned about rock mining endangering water quality and the Everglades after the commission on May 25 unanimously approved a mining company's plan to excavate 3,900 acres in the area.
Marcus' calendar shows an appointment with Kahlert on May 9, and with Boose on July 12, a week before the initial commission vote on the restrictions.
Marcus said she didn't recall the reasons for those meetings, but she was certain they weren't about mining.
"I have friends, I have meetings, but I didn't know anything about their plans," Marcus said. "I didn't know they had a mining operation. I didn't even know they owned the land."
*
Gulf drilling set for big expansion
Today, lawmakers are expected to approve opening 8.3 million acres.
Tamara LytleChief Washington Correspondent
December 8, 2006
WASHINGTON -- An 8.3 million-acre swath of the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's coast would be open to oil and gas drilling as part of a deal worked out by lawmakers Thursday after years of fierce debate.
The House was scheduled to vote today in favor of the drilling expansion as part of an unrelated bill offering tax breaks. The Senate likely will follow suit in what could be the final hours of the Republican-controlled Congress.
The legislation also would allow Floridians and residents of other states with no income tax to deduct sales taxes on their federal returns. That tax break, which would otherwise have expired, will be available for the 2006 and 2007 returns.
If the drilling measure passes today, it would settle the dispute between energy-exploration advocates who say the nation is starving for more resources and environmentalists who say drilling could wreck Florida's pristine beaches and tourism economy.
Florida lawmakers won a buffer of 125 miles or more for the state's coastline until 2022.
The drilling would be allowed in an area south of the Panhandle that runs roughly from the Alabama border to Fort Walton Beach and from 125 miles south of the state to a point even with the bottom of the state. The tract is about 235 miles west of Tampa in federal waters.
The drilling measure moved forward as the lame-duck Congress scurried to finish its work for the year.
Richard Charter, head of the environmental group National OCS Coalition, called it a "train robbery in the late of night on the way out of town" and the largest new drilling in a formerly protected area in decades.
Florida's delegation was once nearly united against drilling off the state's shores. But Gov. Jeb Bush and much of the Republican delegation began negotiating to allow drilling in exchange for the buffer after energy prices spiked last year and pressure mounted for new domestic sources of natural gas and oil.
The Florida delegation's vote was expected to break down mostly along party lines, with most of the state's Democrats opposing it and most Republicans favoring it.
Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson worked together in the Senate to stop broader bills that would have brought drilling closer to Florida's shores.
Martinez, an architect of the compromise, said it offers far more assurances than doing nothing. Without legislation, the Bush administration would open 2 million acres off Florida to drilling next year. And without the bill, a future administration could drill just 25 miles off Florida's coast near Pensacola.
But Mark Ferrulo, head of the anti-drilling group Environment Florida, said the state would have been better off without the bill because Democrats next year are more likely to bar more energy exploration. "Why snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?"
The Senate is expected to take up the bill today in hopes of sending it to President Bush for his signature. But Democrats in the House may try to hold out until they can close a loophole that allows energy companies to avoid paying some drilling royalties to the federal treasury.
The White House had urged passage of the measure, and spokesman Blair Jones called it "a good step in expanding access to domestic resources and providing states a share of revenues."
The new drilling area holds about 1.26 billion barrels of oil as well as enough natural gas to heat 6 million homes for 15 years.
The bill is disappointingly narrow for the energy industry, which had favored a House version that would have ended a 24-year congressional moratorium on drilling along much of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in federal waters above the outer continental shelf. That broader bill's hopes died when Democrats won control of Congress for the session that begins in January.
The critics who just months ago had opposed it as not doing enough to pump up production decided that during the final days of the Republican-controlled Congress they would push the narrower bill to at least win more drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said the waters off Florida are near pipelines and other equipment stationed farther west in the Gulf so production can begin quickly.
But without more natural gas, he said, industry will suffer and lose business and jobs to foreign competitors. He favored gas drilling throughout the coastlines. "If America continues to lock up 85 percent of our coastline, we are going to give America a second-rate economy."
Athan Manuel of the Sierra Club called the bill dangerous to the environment.
"This is one last gasp for Big Oil and their allies in Congress. This election year, Americans spoke out about a new direction for the country, including on energy policy."
The bill also offers four energy-producing Gulf Coast states -- Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi -- a slice of the new federal royalties for drilling and gives all 50 states a small percentage to use for projects such as parks.
Tamara Lytle can be reached at 202-824-8255 or tlytle@tribune.com.
Politicians make deal on drilling
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers hammered out a tentative agreement Thursday that would allow oil and gas exploration in more than 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, while barring rigs at least 125 miles off Florida's Panhandle.But it was unclear late Thursday whether the deal would hang together.
The House was preparing to vote, but with just one day of Republican-led lawmaking left in the congressional session, the Senate raised objections.
Both chambers tucked the bill into a massive package that also extends popular tax breaks — including a federal income-tax deduction for state sales taxes, a provision that affects states like Florida that don't have a state income tax.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist acknowledged all of the last-minute legislation — including a trade package — "could face obstacles" in the Senate, where several senators have voiced opposition to various provisions.
"I will be working with senators to find the smoothest path for the Senate to decide to take final action," Frist said.
Approval of the drilling measure would cap years of wrangling over how close to put oil and gas rigs off the Florida coast.
The debate has splintered a once-united Florida congressional delegation as rising gas costs and industry pressure convinced many lawmakers to embrace limited drilling in exchange for some protection.
Others argued the state should fend off all efforts because even distant drilling could threaten the state's tourist-dependent beaches.
The bill before lawmakers — which Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez helped negotiate — represents a retreat for House Republicans who had hoped to open up even more of the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling.
But they recently embraced the Senate-crafted legislation as the best chance to get something done before Democrats take control of Congress.
Environmentalists fought to stave off the measure, saying a Democratic-led Congress would be more likely to focus on energy conservation and developing alternative sources of fuel.
But the measure had bipartisan support, and industry groups in recent weeks stepped up the pressure, running ads in Capitol Hill newspapers to push lawmakers to pass something, contending that it will boost supplies of sorely needed energy, particularly natural gas.
Under the agreement, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas would gain millions of dollars in royalties from drilling companies.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., pledged part of the money would go toward restoring the Gulf Coast's battered wetlands and swamps.
But environmentalists suggested drilling in the Gulf has contributed to the destruction and loss of coastal wetlands.
"Thus, we don't see the logic in funding restoration when the trade-off is incentives for new drilling that would jeopardize other coastal areas," said Athan Manuel of the Sierra Club.
Some lawmakers and the Bush administration had raised concerns about sending the money to the four states rather than to the federal government, but the administration has not opposed the bill.
The measure would open up 8.3 million acres in the Gulf to drilling, while barring rigs 125 miles off the Panhandle, 235 miles off the coast of Tampa and nearly 325 miles from Naples.
The Senate has refused to take up the broader House effort to lift the congressional moratorium barring energy exploration off much of the nation's coasts.
Under the House bill, drilling could occur as close as 50 miles from shore, unless state legislatures vote to increase the ban.
Democrats were seeking Thursday to attach a potential poison pill to the legislation: asking lawmakers to fix a loophole that has allowed oil and gas companies to skip paying billions of dollars in government royalties on oil and gas produced in federally-owned waters in the Gulf.
The royalty provision cleared the House by a 252 to 165 measure earlier this year, but has not passed the Senate.
It was uncertain if the provision would be added late Thursday, but senators have warned that they won't take a drilling bill that has been altered.
"Anything that complicates it makes it more difficult to pass," Martinez said.
Deal
on tax breaks opens way for expanded Gulf drilling
WASHINGTON
-- An agreement on a tax package Thursday moved Congress closer to
opening a vast area in the Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles south of
Florida's Panhandle, to oil and gas drilling.
Both the House and Senate attached the drilling legislation to a
package of popular tax measures expected to win approval by week's
end as Republicans wrap up the 109th Congress and turn control over
to Democrats next year.
The drilling legislation also revamps revenue sharing from Gulf
oil and gas production, sending hundreds of millions of dollars to
four Gulf states for restoring coastal wetlands and repairing
hurricane damage.
Environmentalists opposed the measure, calling it a gift to large
oil companies. Drilling supporters -- including a cross-section of
the business community -- argued it would provide access to badly
needed energy resources, especially natural gas, and perhaps drive
down prices.
The 8.3 million acres that would be opened to drilling are
believed to contain 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 6 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas, enough gas to heat 6 million homes for 15
years. The country uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day.
The drilling area was carefully crafted to gain support of
Florida's lawmakers, with its eastern edge more than 200 miles from
state beaches.
"This protects Florida," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., called the drilling legislation
critical to Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states recovering from
hurricane Katrina and trying to restore storm-damaged wetlands. The
measure would steer 37.5 percent of federal royalties to the four
Gulf oil-producing states, with about half going to Louisiana.
While Louisiana's share would be about $100 million a year
initially, the amount would dramatically grow after 2017 to more
than $650 million annually because of increased production from not
only the 8.3 million acres but elsewhere in the Gulf.
Some lawmakers and the Bush administration have raised concerns
about shifting eventually billions of dollars in royalties from
federal oil and gas to the four states -- Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama and Texas.
Nonetheless, the administration has supported the measure.
The Senate approved the bill last summer but House Republicans
held out for broader access to oil and gas beneath the country's
Outer Continental Shelf. A House bill passed earlier in the year
would have lifted the long-standing moratorium that has barred
offshore drilling in 85 percent of the country's coastal waters.
After suffering losses in last month's election, House GOP
leaders accepted the Senate-passed bill that was limited to the Gulf
region.
"I don't believe it represents the answer to our country's
worsening supply situation," said Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.,
who had been a co-sponsor of the broader drilling plan. But he said
he now supported the Senate version as a first step to broader
offshore drilling.
House GOP leaders had planned to bring up the legislation
separately earlier in the week but shifted tactics because they
could not get the two-thirds vote needed for passage under an
expedited process.-
The drilling measure is S 3711.
Land buy advances Wekiva parkway
The $74 million price reflects pressure to shield the river from later development.
Kevin Spear and Nin-Hai TsengSentinel Staff Writers
December 8, 2006
In what could rank among the most costly environmental land ever purchased in Florida, state and local authorities agreed Thursday to pay $74 million for a relatively small parcel near Wekiva River wilderness as an essential move toward building an expressway through the area.
At that figure, the 1,500-acre Neighborhood Lakes tract, straddling the line between Orange and Lake counties, will fetch its owners more than $49,000 per acre.
Much of the property is covered with pasture and is far from pristine compared with other lands along the treasured Wekiva River. Yet the selling price reflects enormous pressure felt by government officials and voiced by environmentalists to buy the property as a way to shield the river from a flood of development lured by a new expressway.
"It is strategically important in so many ways," said Jay Exum, president of the Friends of the Wekiva River. "Acquisition of this land has got to lead the effort to protect the Wekiva."
Paying such an eye-opening price will require complex financing. For starters, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is shelling out $19.8 million for land, to avoid having to condemn and acquire the land in court and for the purchase of development rights attached to the land.
The property was one of several parcels specified for mandatory purchase by the Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act, a law passed in 2004 after years of contentious negotiations among road builders, environmentalists and local governments.
The act finally gave a go-ahead for the state Department of Transportation and the expressway authority to build the highway but also set forth a long list of requirements for deflecting the impacts of potential growth.
Since then, however, developer Nancy Rossman of Orlando has pressed local authorities for rights to build hundreds of homes on the Neighborhood Lakes property, which is generally high, well-drained and suitable for construction. That effort was widely criticized as a way to inflate the price the state and partners would eventually pay for the tract.
Rossman could not be reached Thursday for comment.
"They knew we had to buy the property, and they kept seeking at every opportunity to up the value of the land," said state Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, a sponsor of the Wekiva act. "Ultimately, without that property, you can't build the road, and you can't protect the river."
The expressway, an on-again, off-again proposal for many years, is the last segment of what will become a beltway around Orlando.
Transportation experts have pitched the Wekiva portion as critical for lessening crowding on Interstate 4. In response, environmentalists rallied to oppose the expressway as likely to destroy the heart of Central Florida's favorite and imperiled environmental playground.
Exum said what changed was recognition among his group and other river defenders that State Road 46 and other local roads would be expanded continually in coming years and potentially do more damage than a well-designed expressway.
Among key conditions for lending support to an expressway, Friends of the Wekiva River and others demanded the purchase of the Neighborhood Lakes parcel.
Last year, the expressway authority was rebuffed in a $25 million bid for the land. Agency officials noted in its offer that the owners paid just $7 million for the land in 2001.
In recent months, state and regional authorities continued talks to buy the land but came away frustrated and fearing they wouldn't be able to scrape together enough cash.
Along with the expressway authority's contribution, the state Department of Environmental Protection will pitch in $34.2 million, with the remaining $20 million to be split among the St. Johns River Water Management District as well as Orange and Lake counties.
Exactly how much the counties will contribute is yet to be decided. Robert Christianson, who directs acquisitions for the water-management district, said the funding capabilities of the counties vary, and the deal was crafted to reflect that.
Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet are to consider the proposed purchase Dec. 19. The other partners will consider giving final approval in coming weeks.
Though 10 percent of the Neighborhood Lakes property will be set aside for the parkway, the rest will go toward conservation and become part of Rock Springs Run State Reserve.
"This acquisition demonstrates that by partnering together, it is possible to meet transportation needs of the region while also protecting the environment, " said Keith Schue, coordinator of The Nature Conservancy's Ocala-Wekiva Conservation Project, who called the purchase a "key milestone" in the success of the Wekiva act.
Another parcel identified for purchase by the Wekiva act, the 1,600-acre New Garden Coal tract, was acquired for preservation last year. In that deal, the owners were paid $2.5 million but were also granted permission to sell preservation credits to developers who can use those credits to obtain approval to destroy wetlands elsewhere.
The state has targeted two other parcels for preservation: the Seminole Woods property and the Pine Plantation property.
But of all four, the Neighborhood Lakes parcel has triggered the most anxiety because of its development potential and the tough, drawn-out negotiations by its owner.
Though the price is astounding by almost any measure, the amount was rendered less painful by sharing among the partners.
"We're talking about participating at a low price percentagewise," Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty said.
Kevin Spear can be reached at kspear@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5062. Nin-Hai Tseng can be reached at 352-742-5919 or ntseng@orlandosentinel.com.
Imperiled Fisheries Require Quick Action
Tampa Tribune editorial published: Dec 8, 2006
The news about our oceans should alarm and infuriate: All of the world's fishing stocks will collapse within 50 years if something is not done about overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction.
The result would devastate food supplies and destroy the commercial and recreational fishing industries.
These are the conclusion of a team of scientists from 12 academic institutions in five countries who analyzed dozens of studies and fishing data from around the world. The evidence is compelling. The researchers found that in 1980, just 13.5 percent of harvested fish had "collapsed," which occurs when catches dwindle to 10 percent of historic highs. Now nearly 30 percent of species have collapsed, even though the industry is pursuing far more species.
The situation requires prompt and resolute action, particularly tough fishing rules and regulations and more rigorous protection of coastal habitat. An end to government subsidies that encourage harmful fishing practices also is needed.
All nations should joint together in an effort to rescue a critical global resource.
As the report's lead author, Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University, put it: "It's not too late to turn this around. It can be done, but it has to be done soon."
Clam-farming operation snaps shut at year's end
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 08, 2006
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution is getting out of the clam-farming business.
"It doesn't make money," said Jan Petri, a spokesman for the research institute north of Fort Pierce. "In fact, it costs Harbor Branch money."
The private nonprofit facility got into the clam business to help fishermen affected by a 1994 net ban. In its first four years, Harbor Branch's clam program trained about 300 fishermen to farm clams and provided seed discounted about 25 percent.
But the operation's expenses now exceed revenues, Petri said. He wouldn't say by how much or for how long the operation has lost money.
As recently as 2002, Harbor Branch was producing up to 40 million clams a year. Most were sold to clam farmers and restaurants.
Harbor Branch will continue production through the end of the year. After that the clam-farming operations and equipment, including several large tanks and trays, will be given to Joseph Weissman, who is among five institute employees losing their jobs with the shutdown, Petri said.
Weissman, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, has told Harbor Branch officials he intends to hire the other four, Petri said. The employees also have been offered the opportunity to apply for other positions at Harbor Branch.
Weissman will pay nothing to take over the operations and equipment, a stipulation of a long-standing contract between him and Harbor Branch. The contract says that if either party ceases clam production, the other can assume total control, Petri said.
Harbor Branch's clam operation is one of the biggest of 12 such programs in the state, spokesman Petri said. There are also clam-farming businesses in Hawaii and North Carolina.
"It was never our vision to have a monopoly on this," Petri said. "Of course, the competitive market being what it is, others have caught on to growing clams."
According to the Florida Aquaculture Association, producers in the state reported $95.5 million in farm-gate sales in 2003, of which $13 million was in clams and oysters.
Harbor Branch will continue other aquaculture programs, Petri said. The end of clam growing is simply a part of a wider strategic plan aimed at improving its finances.
Two years ago the research facility stopped getting money from the family trust of the Johnson & Johnson health care products fortune, which pumped about $8 million annually into Harbor Branch. As a result, the research facility has been dipping into its $40 million endowment.
This summer, Harbor Branch trimmed 19 jobs from its payroll.
Board members now are considering a plan to have Harbor Branch become part of Florida Atlantic University.
Polk Wants Growth Plan to Be ChangedPolk County officials will meet soon with state planners to negotiate a massive change in the county's growth plan that affects an area of Four Corners where thousands of new homes and major new commercial developments are envisioned. 'We're going to Tallahassee and roll up our sleeves,' said Merle Bishop, the county's growth management director.
County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve the plan change, which triggers further state review. Commissioners initially approved the changes in August for an area of more than 16,000 acres and the Florida Department of Community Affairs responded in October with a list of criticisms of the plan.
The DCA's main criticism was that county planners did not do a very good job of documenting how the county would provide services to the thousands of additional residents the plan would allow by increasing the amount of land where residential development is allowed.
County planners said some of the specific issues, such as future water supplies, have been resolved since DCA's comments were published. Others, such as traffic and other public services, remain unresolved. Bishop said the plan has been revised to reduce some of the residential acreage, but the remaining residential areas will include more high-density residential development.
Bishop said that fits with the regional strategies that envision higher-density development around the Interstate 4/U.S. 27 interchange as an alternative to sprawling low-density development that's the norm in many residential areas in Central Florida.
'That could also make the housing more affordable,'' Bishop said. The language in the staff report contains a questionable claim that high-density residential development 'tends to have lower demand on public facilities.' But Bishop acknowledged there will be impacts that have to be addressed. Deputy County Manager Jim Freeman said one of the key strategies is not aimed at increasing residential development so much as it is with creating employment centers to encourage more people who live in Polk County to work here.
'We don't want to be just a bedroom community,'' Freeman said. The problem with being a bedroom community, county officials say, is that the residential growth creates demands for services without the commercial and industrial development to generate the property taxes to pay for it, since typically residential development costs more to serve than it supplies in revenue.
Nevertheless, Bishop said the area has to have enough residential development to attract the employment centers in the first place. He said one analysis planners are still trying to work out is determining the mix of owner-occupied and short-term rental units among the homes in the area.
That would tell planners, for instance, the size of the market for the employment center and would help to plan for providing services, such as schools, that residents use but tourists do not.
Alachua sets course for land to be annexed
By Ronald Dupont Jr.Herald Editor
ALACHUA - The first steps toward Alachua annexing 18 parcels of land, totaling more than 603 acres, was given unanimous approval Monday by the Alachua City Commission but not before an effort to deny possible annexations near Turkey Creek was rejected.
All of the parcels in question sit in what are known as enclaves, which are Alachua County pockets of land surrounded or nearly surrounded by city land. Cities throughout Florida on a regular basis ask landowners in enclaves to annex into the respective city so that there is no confusion over whether the city or county should respond for emergencies.
Enclaves also create other headaches when companies with contracts with the city have trouble figuring out which homes on a street are in city limits. The state has encouraged cities to "square off" their borders and eliminate enclaves through people voluntarily annexing their land into the city.
Monday, the Alachua city staff presented an "Urban Services Report" that showed 18 parcels of land that are candidates for annexation. By approving the report, the city would give the staff permission to move forward on having each landowner petition to be annexed into the city.
But in a last-minute move, 40-year Alachua City Commissioner James Lewis, a resident of Turkey Creek, asked that five parcels of land near or bordering Turkey Creek be taken off the list. Lewis, the second resident to move into the private development decades ago, gave conflicting reasons for his request.
He said the parcels were landlocked but some, indeed, were not. Then he said that the landowners must have "some reason to annex" - alluding to development. But he left people puzzled because he didn't object to the 13 other parcels of land spread throughout the city - only to the ones bordering the development in which he lives.
Further, he questioned the reasons for people wanting to annex into the city even after city staff said they had asked many of the landowners to annex to help get rid of enclaves.
In a rare - perhaps a first - vote of its kind for Alachua, none of Lewis' fellow city commissioners sided with him and his request to exclude the five properties was denied. After losing that vote, Lewis said he would vote with the rest of his commissioners, and the city commission then voted unanimously to include all 18 parcels in the Urban Services Report.
Of the 18 parcels of land up for consideration, the ones near Turkey Creek garnered the most controversy from residents as one after another said they feared landowners were annexing into the city for the simple reason of getting a zoning change to put housing developments on their land.
John Tingue, president of the Turkey Creek Master Owner Association's Board of Directors, said some of the parcels of land being considered for annexation are the last pieces of land between the private development and San Felasco Hammock State Park.
"A lot of people moved in there and were told nothing would be there," Tingue said. "...I like waking up in the morning, having a cup of coffee and watching deer walk across the golf course."
Turkey Creek resident Suzanne Miller said she didn't believe some of the landowners near Turkey Creek were requesting annexation simply to close up enclaves.
"I don't trust that they won't develop," she said, echoing comments made by others.
Some residents said they had been shown plans for a development on the land in question but attorney Sean Donnelly, representing the landowner, said those plans may have been made by speculators but never came from or were approved by the landowner.
"We also know the property is ecologically sensitive because Turkey Creek runs through there," Donnelly said. "My clients are individuals, not developers."
Resident Melissa Sherman said she and others were misinformed by who owned the land now in question.
"When we purchased our property, we were told the land was part of San Felasco Park and would never be developed," Sherman said. "We now know that's wrong."
When Lewis made a motion to exclude the various parcels of land near Turkey Creek from the Urban Services Report, the man who owns the land between the development and the state park got visibly angry.
Tommie Martin said the land has been in his family for more than 100 years and that he has no plans to transform it into a development.
"I would like my family to see the turkey and the deer on the land," he said.
Then, angrily gesturing to Lewis, Martin said, "Are we going to continue with the good old boy system we've had for years?"
While much attention focused on Martin's land, other land near Turkey Creek up for consideration was barely mentioned. That land is owned by John Freeland. He told commissioners that the problem with enclaves is real.
"It only came to my attention a few years ago that I wasn't in the city," he said, adding that he always assumed his 209 acres were in the city limits.
He, too, said he had no plans to put a housing development on his land.
As for other parcels of land up for consideration, none generated controversy. In fact, one resident, Ward Scott, said he was happy certain land was being annexed because the city could do a better job than the county with codes enforcement and law enforcement.
First steps OK'd toward allowing concrete plant in Alachua off U.S. 441
By Ronald Dupont Jr.Herald Editor
ALACHUA - The first steps have been approved for a concrete batch plant to move into Alachua off U.S. 441 near Sabine and the Electro Energy battery plant.
The city commission unanimously approved rezoning the 10-acre parcel of land from agriculture to industrial general, giving the developer, Alachua Partners LLC, the opportunity to move forward with getting approval to build a concrete batch plant.
At a batch plant, the concrete is made from aggregate, water and other materials, then dropped into concrete trucks - commonly referred to as cement trucks - that then takes the concrete to various job sites.
Another batch plant has been propopsed for a site on the Hipp Construction property, and that plant has garnered much controversy because of its proximity to neighborhoods and the downtown area. Dozens of people have shown up at city meetings to protest it.
But the new batch plant drew very little protest Monday as the developer's representative, Gerry Dedenbach of Causseaux & Ellington, pointed out that the proposed plant would not be located near any neighborhoods.
In fact, the land last year was proposed for a neighborhood but the commission turned down the idea, saying too much industrial use surrounded the property.
The only concerns by residents Monday over the idea of a batch plant came from a few who questioned the 327 truck trips a day the plant would generate on U.S. 441. One resident, as well as City Commissioner Bonnie Burgess, also questioned how runoff from the site may affect the area's ecosystem.
"It's not just a karst-sensitive area," Burgess said. "It's a highly sensitive karst-sensitive area."
Dedenbach said Alachua Partners LLC hired an environmental expert who determined that there would be "no harm" to the eco-system from the plant.
The report by the environmental expert, as well as traffic reports and other required reports for the batch plant to be considered for approval, will be presented to the city commission at a later date.
Tamara Robbins, a former city commissioner, said she was worried that while the land was being rezoned to industrial, the city had no way to ensure that a batch plant would be built there. The industrial zoning would allow a landfill, among other uses.
"(The land) sits there unused with an agriculture exemption gaining value until they can sell it," Robbins said.
But Dedenbach assured the city commission the the owners had plans for a batch plant and nothing else.
Push is on for regional transit authority
By WILL VAN SANT, Times Staff Writer
Published December 8, 2006
It's almost 2007 in Tampa Bay, one of the country's most congested metropolitan areas.
Yet the region, which has aspired to host international events like the Olympics, remains a transit infant.
Try taking a public bus from New Port Richey or St. Petersburg directly to Tampa International Airport. You can't.
Ronnie Duncan, who becomes Pinellas County Commission chairman in January, hopes progress can be made by a new regional organization.
As outlined in a proposal by Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt, the group would include officials and transit agency representatives from Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
Despite an array of local transportation planning groups, Duncan said, discussion among the governments has been limited, even as growth patterns are transforming the region.
"The time has come for us to begin addressing these shifts between where people live and people work," he said.
The idea comes as Tampa Bay leaders appear to be realizing that new directions are needed.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has become a voice for area light rail and has succeeded in getting the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and Hillsborough Area Rapid Transit to talk about regional cooperation.
And state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, is sponsoring legislation to create a regional transportation authority. The authority would include leaders from Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Galvano's authority would have the ability to create public-private partnerships and issue bonds to pay for large transportation projects. He said the group could coexist with Duncan's smaller transit organization, but the last thing Tampa Bay needs is more talk that never leads to actual remedies.
"We are literally choking on plans in our region," he said.
Duncan said he supports Galvano's legislation.
They practice the art of activism
CRISTINA SILVAPublished December 8, 2006
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH
On the canvases are images of lemon- and tangerine-colored cottages under cobalt skies that were carefully crafted with determined brush strokes.
To the artists, the subjects are endangered species and the work is a last-ditch attempt to save the cottages of Indian Rocks Beach from being razed to build another condominium to add to Florida's great wall of concrete.
Violetta Shtumeyzen, 41, of Sarasota, Helen Tilston of Indian Rocks Beach, who is in her 50s, and Mary-Rose Holmes of Indian Rocks Beach, who would only say she is older than the other two, call themselves the Plein Air Cottage Artists.
They didn't intend to become political activists when they started painting landscapes together four years ago, but they quickly grew alarmed when their subjects started disappearing one by one.
Throughout Pinellas County, residents of beachfront cities are fighting developers and their local governments in an attempt to preserve the quaint, untouched quality of their neighborhoods.
In Treasure Island and St. Pete Beach, residents have restricted growth and protested tall buildings. Belleair residents have tried to do the same.
Indian Rocks Beach